Sanitary cabinet for drinking-cups.



L. W. FARMER;A

SANITARY GABINET PoR DRINKlNG GUPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30.1909.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

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' L. W. FARMER.

SANITARY CABINET FOR DRINKING GUPS.

LM* I Cif/- Nansw. xav ummm cav, Pnamumwmzns. wxsmnamu u c APPLICATION FILED APB. 30, 1909.

Patented Deo. 14, 1909.

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LUKE W. FARMER, OF SOLVIERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SANITARY CABINET FOR DRINKING-CUPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. ist, i909.

Application filed April 30, 1909. Serial No. 493,075.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUKE W. FARMER, of i Somerville, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Sanitary Cabinets for Drinking- Cups, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cabinets for drinking-cups, and has for its object the construction o-f a cabinet especially designed for containing a large number of drinkingcups for the individual use of a number of persons. Such a cabinet is well suited for school-houses, factories, and elsewhere. The cabinet contains a plurality of declining` shelves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, and adapted to be easily removed, each shelf supporting a plurality of cup-holders. Said cup-holders are arranged to support the cups in position to permit them to drain, and the drippings to fall onto the shelves, and as the shelves are declined the drippings will flow to and drip from the lowermost edgings of the shelves; and the shelves are arranged with respect to each other so that the drippings from any shelf will not fall onto the shelf below it. The cabinet is also supplied with a drip-pan at the bottom adapted to receive the drippings from all the shelves, and an outlet is provided for said pan which is preferably supplied with a cock.

Figure l is a front elevation of a sanitary cabinet for drinking-cups embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same taken on the dotted line 2 2. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of one of the shelves and cup-holders thereon. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the end portion of one of the shelves. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of a ventilator which may be employed. Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing one of the shelves and a modified form of cup-holder supported thereon, said gure also showing the shelf as partially removed.

The case of the cabinet here shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, consists of a back-wall a, side-walls a, a', top wall a2, bottom wall a3, and 'doors at. Said case, however, may be constructed in any other suitable manner.

Hthin a case a plurality of shelves Z) are supported, being preferably arranged horizontally and one above the other. Said l entering shelves extend from side to side of the case and are preferably supported at the ends by grooves b formed in the side-walls, the shelves being slid into the grooves, and hence are readily removable. Said shelves will be made of any suitable material, as for instance, they may be made of sheet metal having one or both sides enameled. Said shelves are supported in a declining position, that is to say, they decline rearwardly or toward the back of the case. As said shelves are designed to receive the dripings from the cups and to permit said drippings to drip therefrom, they are so arranged that the drippings from any shelf will not fall upon the shelf below it. To accomplish this result in a simple manner, the shelves are arranged with their rear edges extended each beyond the rear edge of the shelf below it, as shown in Fig. 2. Preferably the shelves are made of different widths and arranged with the widest shelf at the top; each succeeding shelf below it being narrower than the one above it, and when so made and disposed the front edges of all the shelves will occupy the same vertical plane. rlhe shelves, as here shown, have their front and rear edges turned down to form lips h2, b3, see Fig. 4, and the lip Z13 is cut away at its ends to enable the ends of the shelves to enter and slide along in the grooves in the sides of the case. Said lips stiften the shelves and the rear lips b3 provide for the easy escape of the water from the shelves.

At the bottom of the case a drip-pan e is provided, which is made as an open trough, having closed ends, and which eX- tends from one to the other side of the case, and which declines from end to end, so that all the drippings will fall into said pan and will flow to the lower end thereof. At said lower end an outlet pipe c is provided, preferably having a cock c2, although said cock may be omitted and said outlet pipe connected with any suitable waste-pipe. The drip-pan may be made of metal andA enameled like the shelves, if desired, and, as here shown, it is formed integral with or attached to an upright back-plate c3, which eX- tends over the entire inner side of the backwall of the case. Said drip-pan when made as a trough has its flaring side portions resting on blocks o4 arranged at the bottom of the case to thereby assist in holding the trough in place yet permitting its removal. The drip-pan and its attached back-plate may be readily removed whenever desired for the purpose of cleaning it, or for any other purpose.

The cup-supports Z are herein shown as arranged on the shelves in order that they may be removed with said shelves for the purpose of cleaning the shelves and the supports or for any other purpose; but they may be otherwise supported.

While my invention comprehends any form of cup support adapted to hold a cup in position to permit it to drain, yet, as here shown, it is composed of wire, bent to form a pair of arms do, d', extended forwardly from upright standards (Z2, (Z2, and having a circular end (Z3. Said cup support permits the cup to be placed upon it in a rearwardly declining or approximately horizontal position, and as the sides of the cup flare outwardly from the bottom, the cup when thus supported will drain. The cupreceiving portion of the cup-support, however, may be arranged at any desired angle with respect to the supporting standards thereof, the main object being to so arrange it that the cup will drain no matter what form of cup may be employed.

r-rs shown in Fig. 2, and the withdrawn position of Fig. 6, the upper arm (Z0 is of somewhat less length than the depth of the cup and the lower arm cl is bent upwardly or inwardly adjacent the standard, so that, when the cup is in position on the support, the portions of the cup at and adjacent its rim, which would be touched to the lips in drinking, will be held out of contact with any portion of the support. rlhe advantages of this arrangement from a sanitary standpoint will be obvious.

By making the cup-receiving portions of the cup-support of wire, bent substantially as shown, they are compressible to a certain extent, so as frictionally to engage and hold the cups. lli/*hilo a compressible cup-support is a feature of this invention and possesses certain advantages, yet a cup-support devoid of this feature, when arranged to hold the cup in draining position, comes within the scope of this invention.

On the lips b2 of the shelves, numbers, or other characters will be arranged to individualize the cups.

The doors of the case are preferably provided with beads a?, which enter grooves in the edges of the walls of the case to form a tight, dust-proof joint when the doors are closed, and said doors will be provided with any suitable means for locking them in closed position.

In the side walls of the case, at any desirable points, openings c are provided over which screen-plates c, of cloth, or of wire, having very fine mesh, are extended, thereby to serve as ventilators for the cabinet, without permitting dust to be admitted.

l/Vhen the case is opened any one of the cups may be easily removed and replaced, and the drippings from the cups will fall upon the shelves which support them, and will drip from said shelves into the pan.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is i l. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningshelves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, the lowermost edge of each shelf proj ecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelf below it but terminating a short distance in front of the back wall of the case to provide a passage between the back wall and shelves for the drippings from all the shelves, and cup-supports also contained in said case arranged to support the cups in draining position, substantially as described.

A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningshelves, horizontally arranged, one above the other, each shelf of the set being made wider than the shelf below it and arranged with its lower edge projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelfl below it, and cup-supports also contained in said case arranged to support the cups in draining position, substantially as described.

3. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningshelves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, the lowermost edge of each shelf projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelf below it, and cup-supports attached to said shelves and removable therewith and arrangcdto support the cups in draining position, substantially as described.

l. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningshelves, and cup-supports attached thereto comprising upright standards and forwardly extended cup receiving portions, substantially as described.

5. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningshelves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, the lowermost edge of each shelf projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelf below it, cup-supports also contained in said case arranged to support the cups in draining position, and a drip-pan arranged at the bottom of the case to receive the drippings from the declining shelves, substantially as described.

G. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of declining shelves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, the lowermost edge of each shelf projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelf below it, and cup supports also contained in said case arranged to support the cups in draining position, and a drip-pan arranged at the bottom of the case to receive the drippings from all tlie declining shelves, said pan being made as' a trough extended from side to Side of the ease and declining from end to end and provided at its lower end With an outlet, substantially as de# scribed.

7. A cabinet for drinking-cups consisting of a case containing a plurality of decliningslielves, arranged horizontally, one above the other, the lowerniost edge of each shelf projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the shelf beloiv it, cup-Supports also contained in said case arranged to support the cups in draining position, and a drip-pan arranged at the bottom of the case to receive the drip pings from all the declining shelves, said pan having an upright back-plate which extends over the inner face of the back-Wall of the case, which is removable with the pan, substantially as deecribed.

in testimony whereof, I have signed my naine to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LUKE WV. FARMER.

Vitnesses:

GEO. R. BLINN, F. WV, CUSHING. 

